Arguing With God
by JohnnynotSid
Summary: Immediately following the defeat of Cell, a God comes to claim Vegeta's soul once and for all. A trial ensues and all of Vegeta's  past, present and future sins are revealed to the Defenders of Earth. Full Summary inside. Future Explicit content.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** **Arguing With God  
**

**Summary:** Immediately following the defeat of Cell, a divine spirit comes to claim Vegeta's soul once and for all. When Goku, Gohan and Bulma try to save the Saiyan Prince, a trial ensues and all of Vegeta's sins are revealed to the Defenders of Earth. Now, the Z Fighters find themselves conflicted over whether they truly believe that Vegeta should be saved even as they fight for that very end. But even with true belief, how can they truly change the mind of a _God?_

**A/N:** Okay, so this is a sort of weird philosophical thing. Basically, I'm messing around with these ideas about redemption and all that. I mean, Vegeta lived and became a main character for the rest of DBZ canon because he was so popular. But it got me thinking about whether he truly deserved to have been accepted by the Z Fighters. I feel like the end of the Cell games marked a critical point in the evolution of his character, which is why I'm starting there. Basically, a God shows up seconds after Cell is defeated to kill Vegeta and send his soul to Hell once and for all, but Goku and Gohan try to intervene and convince the God to give him another chance. For their sake and Bulma's, the Z Fighters try as well, and a trial is commenced, but during it they learn of all the horrible things Vegeta has done and could very likely end up doing. I'm really sorry about how this prologue is written. I tried to make it make as much sense as I could, but it's hard when you write about literally divine beings. The narration is meant to come off as pretentious. This is my first DBZ fic.

Prologue: Unrest on the Highest Heaven

Were any mortal to see, hear, smell, or in any way physically or mentally sense the scene where our story opens, their internal organs would melt within the confines of their bodies and the liquid mass would leak out of every one of their orifices slowly, boil, and build in heat and force within the confines of their physical shells until their skulls ruptured and the rest of the liquidy mass burst out like a volcano erupting.

You see, this scene is too awesome for any mortal to be able to perceive. Everything about this scene: the sights, the sounds, the smell, the atmosphere… Everything. For not only were the seven Highest Gods of the Universe all assembled there along with numerous heavenly servants, but six of them were fighting with one another, bickering and shouting over each other with great anger. One angry God can level entire galaxies, here were six. Six Gods who were very, very upset.

But let's say that you are not a mortal, but one of, let's say, the Heavenly servants. And we were dealing with the methods of mortal perception. Then, perhaps, I could explain it to you in a way you might understand.

Now, reader, I am assuming that you have come upon this story because you are a fan of Dragon Ball Z. As a fan, you know that after a mortal dies in Akira Toriyama's fictional world, after a person dies, they go to Other World, which is for the most part ruled over by the Kais, starting with the four Kais of North, South, East and West, then the Grand Kai, and, mightiest of all, the Supreme Kai.

The Supreme Kai is a humble underling compared to the deities we are dealing with here. And the Supreme Kai Planet is a long-forgotten but still very putrid sewer compared to this plane of being. We are surveying Katriel Lulani, the Highest Heaven of this universe where the seven highest Gods, the Iris Hila, live in their heavenly palaces. The Iris Hila are made up of the Queen, Mena Diamond, and her six children, calledthe Mercuries: Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby, Amber, Topaz, and Emerald. Actually, they're called a lot of other things too, but they are essentially the crown of the Universe, each one of them a jewel.

Now, considering the fact that we're discussing a universe popular during a point in time where the three biggest religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and how almost every major religion of this era tells you that there is one God that is all knowing, all-powerful, and completely at peace, the concept of what is going on here might confuse you. But just know that in this realm of existence, that's not the case.

A religion that does teach of events like the one here is almost completely dead, but thankfully, certainly not forgotten. I speak of what is commonly referred to as "Greek Mythology." In Greek myth, as well as various other pagan legends, their Gods and Goddesses were often fighting, arguing, and competing with one another. To say that the marriage between Zeus and Hera was tumultuous would be a gross understatement. The two war deities, Athena and Ares, were sworn enemies; Athena being a force of strategic warfare, and Ares being the force of unpredictable violence. Aphrodite's infidelity against Hephaestus with Ares led to the humiliation of the War God and Love Goddess. And don't forget about the Apple of discord. The point is, these deities often did not get along.

Now, this is a more in tune with reality here. These deities argue. But unlike the Gods of Greek Myth, these deities are not patrons of particular things such as wisdom, the sun, the hunt, the earth, etc. Rather, each of the six siblings has a domain of random planets and star systems assigned to them, and their powers to interfere with planets under their sisters' domain is severely limited. Furthermore, their own powers even in their own domain are not absolute. They can affect fate, but not dictate it, and free will is a factor that they cannot render obsolete. So, while they can arrange for things to happen, they cannot dictate the results absolutely. As a result, they can come to a head.

Mena Diamond, the overseer of them all, is their leader, but even she is bound by justice, and cannot completely control the actions of her children. As a result, there have been more than a few times where turmoil has been produced on Katriel Lulani, hence the need for the Thelred Hall, their place to voice their conflicts and appeal to the wisdom of Mena Diamond.

Now, a debate was being raged within the Hall: a sparkling, shimmering hall sectioned off into seven parts. The largest held the elevated throne of Mena Diamond and had glittering white decorations. To the right of her dais was a green section with trees, with her eldest and favorite child, Emerald, sitting on a golden swing. Next was the yellow section filled with clouds where Topaz perched, then an elegant orange parlor where Amber sat in an over-stuffed armchair, then the red silk-strewn open bedchamber with the giant four-poster bed where Ruby lounged, Amethyst stood in a purple library, and Sapphire was sunbathing on a rock in the middle of a blue pond. All of them were yelling.

The situation involved the conflicting interests of three of the sisters in regard to a particular mortal who the Gods had been trying to get rid of and/or reform for several years. At least, some of them were trying to get rid of him. But two, Ruby and Amber, wanted him to continue to live.

The mortal in question was Vegeta, one of the few remaining Saiyans in the Universe. It had all started several years ago when it was decided that the Saiyans needed to be wiped out. The Saiyans were a ruthless warrior race who were native to a planet under Ruby's domain. As such, they were Ruby's children. But they were also heartless, violent barbarians and it had been decided that the planet needed to be destroyed in order to maintain some semblance of peace in portions of the universe. Ruby, being their God, naturally loved the Saiyans deeply despite their sins and barbaric nature. She had begged them all to spare the Saiyans, but could not save the race as a whole.

Out of love for Ruby, the Iris Hila had given her a few consolations. First, they allowed a small number of Saiyans to live. For another, Emerald and Amethyst had blessed one of the surviving Saiyans with a pure heart. Third, it was decided that one of the surviving Saiyans would destroy the being who destroyed their planet; one of Amethyst's sons named Frieza. Fourth, the Saiyans would get to once again ascend to their legendary powers. Fifth, that the last of the Saiyan race would play a key role in saving the Universe. And finally, that there would be further descendents of the species.

One of the surviving Saiyans was their prince, Vegeta, and Ruby had wished for him to be the one to defeat Frieza. But Vegeta was evil and committed numerous atrocities. The deities arranged numerous times for him to have chances to change his ways, including an encounter with the pure-hearted Saiyan, Goku, but it did not take. Finally, they gave him a final chance to change using the most powerful means at their disposal: they gave him a child. But it was no use. Even though Vegeta had stopped destroying planets, his selfish, cruel nature remained, and his fate of becoming a hugely destructive force once again became more and more likely. So they decided they also needed to arrange for him to die. And they did. But no matter what, Vegeta seemed to manage to cheat death every time and now Goku, one of the only people capable of keeping him in check, was dead instead.

It was then decided that they could not leave things up to chance any longer. They needed to kill him directly.

Ruby, naturally, was fighting for his life, but it did seem to be in vain. If it had not been for the fact that Amber was supporting her, she would have been silenced by now. Not that it really meant all that much. Everyone knew that Amber was only supporting Ruby to spite Emerald. The two of them always fought like cats and dogs.

Amethyst and Emerald were the ones who most wanted Vegeta destroyed once and for all and Amethyst wanted to be the one to do it. The reason for this was that out of all of them, Amethyst had lost the most children at Vegeta's hands.

Sapphire and Topaz also agreed that Vegeta should be destroyed, but opposed the idea of Amethyst being the one to kill him directly. Vegeta currently resided on Earth, a planet under Sapphire's domain, and Sapphire wanted to do it.

"My planet is the one under the most immediate threat from Vegeta, it should be me that disposes with him!" Sapphire insisted.

"No, it is my right!" Amethyst shot back. "I am the one who has suffered the most as a result of Vegeta's actions, I deserve to be the one to serve justice to him and avenge our lost children!"

"He is one of the last surviving Saiyans, you must give him more time! I do not want my people to truly go extinct!" Ruby cried out.

"Yeah!" Amber added. But nobody listened to them.

"Amethyst, in order for you to take direct action on my planet, you would need to appear to an Earthling with a completely pure heart. Goku is dead, and I feel his loss greatly. At least let me grant myself some relief by eliminating a threat to my planet!"

"You mean the way you've been doing that so far?" Emerald replied. "The last four death tries were orchestrated by you, Sapphire, and you failed every time."

"None of those were direct actions. This time we're talking about a definite solution." Topaz argued.

"It's not fair!" Amethyst cried. "The only reason Earth still exists anyways is thanks Emerald and I. We were the ones who gave you Goku, Kami, and the Dragon Balls. If not for that, Earth would probably be destroyed by now. How many of your children were saved thanks to our actions?"

"Yeah, Goku, Kami, and the Dragon Balls have saved Earthlings, but let's not forget that they've lured threats there as well!" Sapphire growled. "Earth was almost destroyed by King Piccolo, a child of Emerald's!"

"If it were not for us, Earth would have been destroyed years prior to that by Goku. He was going to come to Earth anyways and it was I who decided that he should be the one who was given a pure heart. If I had picked Vegeta, Cormetton would still exist. I probably would have a few billion more living children. But I took that chance for you, and look where it has gotten me. You owe me." Amethyst said.

"You think I can't do it because you think I'm weak!" Sapphire cried out. "'Poor Little Sapphire, so weak, so inept! We had better hold her hand or she'll screw everything up!' I'm sick of you interfering!"

"That's enough now!" Mena Diamond cried out. "I've had enough. Amethyst, you're not going to kill Vegeta."

"Oh, thank you Mena!" Sapphire said tearfully. "I won't waste any time!"

"You're not going to kill him either, Sapphire."

"What?"

"Mena… you don't mean…" Ruby began to say.

"No, Ruby, I don't. Vegeta is going to be killed. But neither Sapphire nor Amethyst will do it. That duty will go to Emerald."

There was a collective gasp.

"Oh, what a surprise!" Sapphire sneered sarcastically. "You always favor Emerald on everything, it's not fair!"

"You're right, Sapphire, it isn't. But it was Emerald who lost the last two planets Vegeta destroyed and it was Emerald who gave Earth its new guardian."

"But in order for Emerald to make a direct action on Earth, she'll need to appear to a pure-hearted champion. Goku's dead!"

"But his son isn't, and he has saved the Earth from Cell. It should be no problem for her to appear to Gohan. She will be the one to do it. No more is to be said on the matter."

It was forbidden for any of Mena's children to disobey her. The decision had been made, and that was that.

Vegeta was going to die and his soul would be sent to Hell once and for all.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback, I'm really pleased with the reception that this is getting. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter One:

He had beaten Cell.

All Gohan could do was laugh. There were two reasons for this. The first was that he was literally too exhausted to do anything else.

The other was that laughter was the perfect, nay, the only appropriate expression for his current state of being: one of the purest, most overwhelming joy. It was the sort of utter, perfect bliss that made you feel as if you were weightless, floating in midair; a light tickling sensation caressing his skin and filling him, as if he were being inflated by pure light. Yet at the same time he also felt as if he were being held in his mother's arms, nestling against her warm, soft form, inhaling the scent of her perfume while "Across the Universe" played in the background. So safe in his absolute vulnerability, everything at peace as he released all the tension, pressure, and fear he had carried within him for so long. All at once, he felt his innocence return to him like an old friend. If Gohan had ever seen A Clockwork Orange, his thoughts would have been "Oh, bliss. Bliss and heaven. It was gorgeousness and gorgiosity made flesh."

There was only two times in his entire life he could remember feeling so… so completely content and awed by the perfection of an experience. The funny thing about these memories were that he had forgotten about them; it seemed so long ago. But now they all returned in much the way his own innocence had.

What was even stranger about these two memories were that they both involved something he never really devoted much time to: films. And yet even more odd were the ways they made him think of his parents.

The first was seeing the original Star Wars for the first time. It was the first time he had left the mountain region. His Dad had brought him into town to see it after it was re-released in theaters. Needless to say it left an impression. The thrill, the adventure of it… It was hard to put into words why it was so amazing. Everything about it was so… perfect. The likability of the naïve young hero Luke. Even at age three, Gohan could relate to him. Growing up in a remote area, wanting to see what else was out there… Obi-wan Kenobi, that wise old man with a twinkle in his eye, and the amazing magic he performed with the force, Luke learning about it. Ben Kenobi sort of reminded Gohan of Piccolo. The utter coolness of the outer space rogue Han Solo… The epic amounts of fear inspired by the imposing figure of Darth Vader.

He had felt so sorry for the poor Princess Leia. Losing her planet like that. And she was so pretty and so brave. And then it turned out, she really wasn't so defenseless. He loved the part where they were cornered by the Storm Troopers and she took command and found a way out. She reminded him of his Mom. And then…. Obi-wan Kenobi dying… It was so sudden and so sad. It didn't matter that they had only known each other for a few days. Luke's life really only began when he met Obi-Wan. And of course when Luke and the other rebels were attacking the Death Star, and at the last minute, Han comes in and saves Luke, who manages through the Force to destroy it! Hearing Ben Kenobi's voice guiding Luke was such a relief. There was just so much excitement, so much fun, and there was real tension. He remembered that part in the garbage room when Luke was pulled underwater by that monster thing. He had actually cried out in the theater, "Oh no! Luke!"

His Dad, of course, reassured him. "Don't worry Gohan, Luke will be okay."

Gohan had just cared so much for these characters. He didn't even know why. But their struggle meant something to him, and when the Death Star was destroyed and Luke and Han got their medals… He just… He felt so… so happy. So happy that in this galaxy long, long ago and far, far away, there were these great heroes. And, of course, their robots, space ships, blasters and light sabers.

Every night after that, he had played around under his covers, pretending his flash light was a light saber. Sometimes he pretended to be Han, other times he pretended to be Luke. He made up new adventures and acted them out, and his Dad played long with him. Usually he had his Dad pretend to be Darth Vader because he was so tall, and he sometimes got his Mom to pretend to be Princess Leia. She ended up actually making him a stuffed Ewok.

Now, of course he saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but those movies didn't inspire the same feelings of bliss, even though as he got older, Empire became his favorite. But Empire ended on such a down note… Han being frozen, Luke losing his hand and finding out Vader was his father. Lando Calrissian betraying them… Jedi was almost perfect up until the discovery that Luke and Leia were siblings. He had watched Jedi right after Empire, so the scene where Leia tongue-kissed Luke was still fresh in his mind. It was kind of traumatizing.

But not even incest could ruin the magic of seeing the first movie. It was just so…. Perfect.

Of course, learning he had energy inside him like Luke… It made it all the more amazing. Somehow knowing that he held a power similar to what Luke Skywalker used to save the galaxy gave him a sense of hope and security that had helped him through the years and kept him sane. Star Wars had really given him the belief in the power of good to triumph over evil, and that anyone, even a farm boy living in the middle of nowhere could save the Universe. There _was_ a force of good in the universe that guides all things. The force was real. He had seen it himself.

The experience that conjured up feelings of absolute rapture was seeing the _Wizard of Oz_. A lot of people didn't realize it, but Luke Skywalker and Dorothy Gale had a lot in common. They were both young people living in remote areas wishing for more in life. They both end up going on a long journey and learn not only to be content with the world they lived in but also that they had the power to get what they wanted all along.

His experience seeing The Wizard of Oz was rather different than seeing Star Wars. He had first seen the film at home, on their TV. He was in his footie pajamas, curled up on his mother's lap, under a blanket. It was a calm, peaceful night. His Dad had protested watching it, he had wanted to train, but his mom made Goku sit down. And it became clear why very soon. The text introduction appeared, dedicating the film to the Young at Heart. Even then, Gohan understood why his mother made his Dad watch it. Because it was made for him. There was no one in the world who better fit the description of "Young at Heart" than his father.

It was so cozy. It wasn't like the theater, yet that made no difference; he felt a lot of the same emotions that Star Wars had inspired. To him, the Wicked Witch of the West was just as scary as Darth Vader. She didn't have a Death Star, or Storm Troopers, but she was very good at figuring out peoples' weaknesses and exploiting them. One of the first things she said to Dorothy was, "I'll get you, My Pretty, and your Little Dog too!" It had already been made very clear that Dorothy was fiercely protective of Toto and fearful for his safety, and the witch had spotted that at once. She used the Scarecrow's fear of fire against him the first chance she got. It made her very threatening. That, and the green skin. It was actually funny, because green was his favorite color, one of his favorite people had green skin. But on her, it was scary.

There was that heart-breaking scene where Judy Garland sang 'Over the Rainbow'. It sounded so… wonderful. The song depicted the sort of beautiful fantasy land where he imagined every fairy tale ever written took place. And then, she wakes up, and all the grey is replaced with vivid and beautiful color and she has reached it!

But in the end, she realizes that the color isn't really what's important. Because all the magic, witches, talking scarecrows, color changing horses and Emerald cities in the world couldn't replace her family. It was all so beautiful, and yet she could not share it with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Their love was so great that it was all Dorothy ever wanted or needed.

Seeing it made Gohan feel such intense love and closeness towards his family and towards his home. His beautiful home, Earth. It wasn't until seeing this movie that he realized how much he truly loved his home and his family. He had realized then that, just like Dorothy, he'd do anything to be with his family and protect those he cared about no matter what.

But what had nailed him the most was that multi-colored bubble floating down and then all at once that beautiful being appearing. Glinda. The Good Witch of the North. Her poufy, glittering pink gown. Her large pink crown. Her wand with the star at the end. Her wavy hair. So pretty. With that sweet, kind voice. He had yet to see a lovelier being than Glinda.

But it seemed his imagination was a few steps ahead of him because he began to visualize a beautiful being. She looked a lot like Glinda, but the poufy sleeves were gone and replaced by straps. Instead of her clothing being pink, they were several beautiful shades of green. The wand changed color as well. Her hair turned green as well and grew in length. She had sprouted wings: two large golden wings and two smaller green ones above the gold ones. Her eyes looked like jewels. It was almost like jewels were embedded in her skin. So… so beautiful. The beauty of this being was so immense she seemed to embody to him the way he saw the Earth and those he cared about. An angel. A beautiful, perfect angel. A green, angelic Glinda.

The epitome of radiance floated above him. He was sure of it.

He was right in a manner of speaking. The epitome of radiance _was_ floating above him. But he wasn't seeing it. If he were to see what was floating above him in its pure form, his internal organs would melt within the confines of his body and the liquid mass would leak out of each of his orifices slowly, boil, and build in heat and force within the confine of his physical shell until his skull ruptured and the rest of the liquidy mass that was once his insides burst out like a volcano erupting.

But that did not happen. Because the being loved him so very much.

She picked him up as if he were an infant.

"You did so, so good." She whispered to him soothingly. "So, so good."

These eight simple words were exactly what Gohan needed.

"I love you." He replied.

She wore his mother's perfume.

"Gohan, Darling, could you please point to Vegeta for me?" The being asked.

The young boy opened his eyes. The world above him had turned into the vast expanse of the heavens and each one of his friends had become a constellation.

"There."

"Thank you, my angel, you did so, so good. Now you'll never have to worry about Vegeta again." She cooed to him, setting him down again.

Gohan sighed contently. "What do you mean?"

"He will pay for his sins."

Well, that was good. Vegeta was a prince, he should be able to afford it. Sins probably were not that expensive. People should pay for things. He had to set an example for his son and free sins did not seem to be a good lesson to learn…..

She was so pretty….

Gohan sat up.

"WAIT, WHAT?"

~!~!~!~!~

A/N: Tell me what you think! Answers will be given!


End file.
